Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Full disclosure: Sony is the only major player in the game industry whose current-generation hardware I don’t own.

I’m a mostly content iPhone user, with an Xbox 360 (and its giant power brick) nestled under my TV. My Wii is fired up with fair regularity, and I’ve owned an embarrassing succession of DSes that I’d really rather not tell you about. Valve’s Steam service is even installed on the Blu-Ray playing Windows 7 PC I have hooked up to my TV - obviously I don’t have some sort of aversion to technology. I mean, my PS2 was well-loved in its day, but I hocked my PSP last year and have never had more than a passing interest in the PS3.

That being said, there are plenty of you out there who own and use PSPs and PS3s every day, and we here at Charge Shot!!! don’t want to exclude you (much). In the interest of pleasing everyone, hit the jump to see the highlights of Sony’s E3 2010 keynote.

Killzone 3 footage was shown. This is one of 20 3D games that will be on the PS3 by the end of the year, affirming Sony’s commitment to the technology. You’ll need to remember to bring your stupid glasses, though.

Notable games which also happen to be in 3D: Ghost Recon, Tron, Gran Turismo 5 (coming November 2), some sports games, and the upcoming Sly Cooper compilation. Notable games which do not appear to be in 3D: Dead Space 2, Medal of Honor.

The PSThrii-mote PlayStation Move controller was demoed in several games, despite technical difficulties and presenters who looked like they were playing these videoed-games for the first time in their lives.

Heroes on the Move is a new game featuring several Sony mascots in one Move-centric title. No word yet on exactly what the game is supposed to be, but if the idea of Jak from Jak and Daxter doing something with Clank from Ratchet and Clank gets you excited I guess I have found the game for you?

The PlayStation Move controller itself costs $50. The nunchuck Navigation controller will set you back another $30, or you could buy them all in a bundle that also includes the PlayStation Eye camera and a game called Sports Champions for $100. The Move will also be included in a $399 PS3 bundle.

New Time Crisis and God of War games are coming at unspecified dates.

The PSP will see 70 new games before the year is out, including Patapon 3. No word on how many of these the PSP Go! is going to miss out on.

There will be a second season of The Tester, that TV show where people compete against each other to become an entry-level game tester. If you’d like a non-gaming analogue, imagine a show on which people competed against one another to become the midnight shift manager at a Denny’s.

LittleBigPlanet 2 was shown, with some multiplayer in tow. No solid release date.

Not to be outdone by Xbox Live, a new online subscription service called PlayStation Plus is coming later this year. It’ll cost $50 for a year, or $18 for three months – the first three months will be free. Current PlayStation Network features (multiplayer online gaming, for one) will continue to be free – Sony hopes to sell you on PlayStation Plus using exclusive content.

Gabe Newell came onstage and said that the PS3 version of Portal 2 would be the best console version of the anticipated sequel. This is quite an about-face for the man who declared the PS3 a “total disaster” in 2007.

There’s a new Twisted Metal game. This is one franchise I never really “got” but apparently people are way excited about it.

And that’s it! Enjoy our continued coverage of E3 throughout the week!